This is the 12th in a 13-part series examining key questions as team training camps get closer. Today’s camp question: How do the Green Bay Packers get that defense fixed? Tomorrow’s camp question: What should the Indianapolis Colts expect from Andrew Luck in Year 2?

The Packers have had great success in their aggressive 3-4 defense overseen by savvy schemer Dom Capers. So that made what happened in their divisional playoff loss to San Francisco—giving up 181 rushing yards to quarterback Colin Kaepernick—a shocking disaster.

Teams will say one game doesn’t weigh on them, but such embarrassing results tend to linger. What doesn’t help is the fact the Packers learned Kaepernick and the 49ers were first up Week 1 when the 2013 NFL schedule was released. Given they also face Robert Griffin III’s Redskins in Week 2, Green Bay had no choice to make stopping the read option their offseason priority.

It comes down to something simple: Front seven discipline. The Packers are used to flying upfield with Clay Matthews leading the charge, getting in quarterbacks’ faces and pressuring them into mistakes on which the ballhawking secondary is built to capitalize.

But even before they were so unprepared for the read option and Kaepernick, the Packers were having issues in controlling the action up front. B.J. Raji didn’t produce the desired results in his move from nose tackle to end last season, and they still hadn’t found someone to take over Cullen Jenkins’ versatile spot at the other end.

In addition to Capers preaching more controlled aggression—where the Packers don’t get too far upfield and out of position against quarterbacks such as Kaepernick and Griffin who can burn them by taking off downfield—it helps the Packers will have some promising fresh legs in key roles.

Rookie first-round pick Datone Jones comes in with a game similar to Jenkins. His quick development and Raji performing better in what has become a “walk” year are critical.

At outside linebacker, the Packers know that Matthews will earn his new big contract and continue to wreak havoc on opposing offenses. The key on that left edge is former first-rounder Nick Perry. Perry’s 2012 season was limited to six games because of an early wrist injury, but he clearly wasn’t ready to complement Matthews as a rookie.

The Kaepernick game was a reminder the Packers needed more speed, youth and athleticism on their defense and not just discipline. The secondary remains their biggest strength even without Charles Woodson because of youngsters such as Morgan Burnett and Casey Hayward.

While Jones and Perry work to better secure the outside, right inside linebacker Brad Jones and free safety Burnett are the key athletes in the middle of the field. Jones’ emergence as a tackler and playmaker late last season made Desmond Bishop expendable. Burnett reacts and gets around the field well with his 123 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions as the evidence.

The Packers know with Aaron Rodgers now having some help in the backfield, their offense will do more than its part to keep them at the head of the NFC North class. But they also need to get past teams such as the 49ers, Redskins and Russell Wilson’s Seahawks to get back to the Super Bowl.

Given Capers acumen and ability to adjust his defense well based on changing personnel, the Packers will look a whole lot better against the read option right away in 2013.